Adjustable grain elevator



March 10, 1953 HOWE 2,630,905

ADJUSTABLE GRAIN ELEVATOR Filed Jan. 17, 1949 2 SHEET SSHEET 1 INVENTOR.

John R. Howe ATTORNEY March 10, 1953 J. R. HOWE ADJUSTABLE GRAINELEVATOR 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Jan. 17, 1949 I11 II HIH ill

INVENTOR.

John R. Howe BY /7% a. fipa ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 10, 1953 p 2 ,630,905--ADJUSTAE cameraman J olinfR. Howe, Denver, Colo. anneal-insane 17,1949, Serial No. 71,343

M romas.

This invention relates to improvementsin apparatus for elevating andloading granular material such as graimand especially to suchapparatushaving a screw feed conveyor for'raisp v I I V 5 lll around thetail piece 22.

.ing the granular material to an elevated point of discharge, aself-contained source ofpower,- and elevating means for adjusting-theheight of the discharge point.

One object of the present invention-is3to pro- ,1

vide a device of the character described having drive means mounted onthe upper; portion of the conveyor and a motor mounted onthe elevatingmeans in fixed relation to the drive means so that the motor is movedupwardly with the upper discharge portion of the conveyorduringelevation of the latter. p y W Another object of the present'inventionisthe provision of suitable linkage adapted-to-maintain the elevatingmeans'in a substantially vertical position during the operative movementthereof and the motor mountingin asubstantially horizontal plane.

A further object of theinventionis-theprovision of suitable automaticclutchmeans insaid drive means whereby the device may be used with"anyavailable portable source of power.

A still further obje'ctof this in'vention'is to provide an improved,detachable hopper-and feed means forthe conveyor including a trailerhitch *and handle which can be utilized 'with-or without'the' hopper. i

v Other objects and advantages ivfill beapparent from the followingdescription-and drawings illustrating one preferred embodiment of the'presplate end of the conveyor "tailpiece -shown 'in Fig. 3; p .7 p.

Fig. is a top-plan view of thec'onveyor 'hopper; p v V "Fig. 6 is a sideelevational viewoftheconveyor hopper shown in Figl'5; v '7 n Fig. 7 isan end view'of theconveyor"gea'r h'eadyan'd V Fig. 8 is"'a sectional"'view takonfbn" theline 8:;8"Of'Fig. 7.

on a;

*aereirmgnavv t6" ares-wars m aaar rate.

a rate fv'eyor' I]! is mounted onawheeled fra'r'ne-l 2 aind is driven bya motor l4 "through a centrifugal "clutch It and gear head b8. Ahopper-20'--is detachably inounted 'o'n'the lower-end of conveyor WheeZed'frameThe wheeled frame l2 consists'of apair of wheels 24 mounted onya n-axle26 which rigidly supports a telescoping "tubular assembly having 'f'upwardly converging) braces 28 and 30, and a central "vertical guidemember 32. i Slidably "mounted on guide '32 is a tubular slide 34 onwhich is secured the"base 3'6"for motor l4. Slide '34 extends verticallythrough a' tubula'r guide 38 secured to the upfier ends of' brace 28and30, hand is pivotally connec'ted on'shaftJU toclamp 42' ori'conveyor[0. Y (See Fig. 2'.)

Rearwardly converging braces "44 and 46 "are pivotally connectedat oneend to axle '25and at the other end lay-pin 48 to another bracket 50mounted lower on conveyor H]. I

A, hand win'dlas's'52 having a handle "59 is mounted ,onthe guide"38forfraising o'r'lowerin slide 34, the upper portion'of conveyor 10, and"the'motor'i' l on'base'tfi. A cable'ilijis wouifd around indlass 52 andextends around a pulley 58 on base 36'and back-to an eye 66 onguide38. IThe braces" 44 andi lfiare proportioned and fbraclget"5ilispositioned ontheconveyor I'Ofso that the" distancefrom pivot pin'48 to the-point"where "wheels "24 'rest on the ground or "other "supporting surfaceiseq'uaf, to the distance from pin 4 B"to the pointwhere tail piece 22'or hopper rests on thegro'und, and is also equal totlie distance frompin"4*8 to shaft 40. 1 Due tothe' above relationship the guide men fber32fand slide 3'4 will remain in a substantially vertical position andthe motor base3 6 will re- 'mainin"a substantially horizontalposition'as the slide 34 is raised'or-lowered on guide 32 by in ass 52-v Ifhis'is particnlar1y important; when a'portable Y' gsoline motorisused, to maintainefficient carburetion' and lubrication, althoughother types of motors'such as an electric motor may be used.

Centrifugal clutch ns -best'seen in Fig. 2 motor"! drives conveyor l llby a belt 62 passing around adrivepulley 'fid 'onclutchlfi. Pulley 64has two pivotally niounti jsho'es "66 mounted internally thereof arid "tengage-a; lining 68'inside the ci lindri- 0 lii l iul Th *held out ofeentaevenness-ne 6a by springs (not shown) until the speed of pulley 64is increased and centrifugal force overcomes the spring tension.

Pulley I2 by belt 14 drives another pulley 16 mounted on gear head I8.

Gear head Bushing 90 is mounted in the upper end of an elongatedcylindrical tube 92 through which extends the screw 94 of conveyor I0.The upper end of screw 94 is coupled to shaft 85 by a pin coupling 96 asshown in Fig. 8. The screw 94 extends through tube 92 to the oppositeend and into tail piece 22 which is secured on the lower end of tube 92.The granular material such as grain is forced upwardly from tail piece22 through tube 92 by screw 94 and out through a discharge spout 95.

Tail piece The tail piece 22 as shown in Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5 is securedto the lower end of tube 92 by a clamp ring I00 and has a bearing plateI02 spaced from clamp ring I00 by braces I00 and I06, and handle I08. Aball bearing H9 is bolted to the bearing plate I02 to provide a lowerbearing for screw 94. Bearing IIO will take some thrust, although mostof the thrust is taken by upper bearings 86 and 88. A trailer hitch I I2is welded or otherwise secured to the bearing plate I02 as shown.

H opper The grain to be loaded may be fed directly to the screw 96through the tail piece 22, but a hopper 20 is preferably provided whichis set under the lower end of the conveyor and secured to the tube 92 bya clamp 6 I4. The hopper 20 has triangular downwardly sloping walls II9, H8 and I20 which feed the granular material dumped into the hoppertoward the screw 94. A flexible slit diaphragm I22 made of sheet rubberor other suitable material is provided over an opening in wall I20 sothat the slit therein may be passed over the trailer hitch I I2 whichextends through wall I20. Since the flexible diaphragm closely surroundsthe hitch I I 2, materials received in the hopper 20 will be preventedfrom escaping out the opening in wall I20. Walls H6 and H8 join at thebottom in a curved surface which conforms to the shape of the tube 92and tail piece 22.

Operation In the operation of the apparatus the lower end of theconveyor I0 is raised oil of the ground or other surface on which it isresting by handle I00 on tail piece 22 and wheeled into position forloading grain. Handle 54 on Windlass 52 is turned to elevate the upperend of the conveyor I0 until the discharge spout is at the proper heightfor loading.

Motor I4 is operated at an increased speed until shoes 06 in centrifugalclutch I6 are forced out against the spring tension to engage lining B8,and through the drive mechanism previously described rotate screw 94.Grain or other granular material is fed into hopper 20 and forcedupwardly through tube 92 and out of discharge spout 95.

It is apparent from the previous description that any available motor,such as a portable gasoline engine or an electric motor ordinarily usedfor other purposes, may be mounted on base 36 and utilized to drive theconveyor, since the centrifugal clutch IB is mounted on the conveyor.

It is also apparent that due to location of clutch I0 and pulleys 04 andi2 on shaft 40 which also forms a pivot for conveyor I0 on slide 34, anddue to the fact that motor I4 is raised and lowered with the upperportion of conveyor I0 in fixed relation with shaft 40 no adjustment ofthe belts is required after raising or lowering.

When it is desired to move the apparatus from one location to another,the lower end of conveyor I0 is raised by handle I08 and the trailerhitch H2 is connected to suitable towing means without removing hopper20. In this position the apparatus is Well balanced with most of theweight on wheels 24 and a small part of the Weight carried on trailerhitch I I2.

While one preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shownand described, it is understood that many modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set outin the following claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for loading granular material comprising an upwardlyinclined tube, a wheeled vehicle supporting said tube, a drive unit atone end of said tube, a tailpiece on the opposite end of said tubeinclusive of a bearing plate, a screw conveyor mounted for rotation insaid tube between said drive unit and bearing plate, a hopper on thelower end of said conveyor tube having substantially triangular walls,two of said walls converging below said conveyor tube and tail piece andbeing adapted for engagement with said conveyor at the apex of saidwalls, another of said walls abutting against the outer surface of saidbearing plate and connecting said two walls, and a clamp secured to saidhopper adjacent the apex of said two walls for securing said hopper onsaid conveyor tube.

2. Apparatus for loading granular material comprising an upwardlyinclined tube, a wheeled vehicle supporting said tube, a drive unit atone end of said tube, a tailpiece on the opposite end of said tubeinclusive of a bearing plate, a screw conveyor mounted for rotation insaid tube between said drive unit and bearing plate, a hopper on thelower end of said conveyor tube having substantially triangular walls,two of said walls converging below said conveyor tube and tail piece,another of said walls abutting against the outer surface of said bearingplate and connecting said two walls, a clamp secured to said hopperadjacent the apex of said two walls for securing said hopper on saidconveyor tube, and said walls being rounded to conform to the shape ofsaid tube and said tail piece adjacent the convergent portions of saidtwo walls.

3. Apparatus for loading granular material comprising an upwardlyinclined tube, a wheeled vehicle supporting said tube, a drive unit atone end of said tube, a tailpiece on the opposite end of said tubeinclusive of a bearing plate, a screw conveyor mounted for rotation insaid tube between said drive unit and bearing plate, a hopper on thelower end of said conveyor tube having substantially triangular walls,two of said walls converging below said conveyor tube and tail piece,another of said Walls abutting against the outer surface of said bearingplate and connecting said two walls, a clamp adjacent the apex of saidtwo walls adapted to engage said conveyor tube, said walls being roundedto conform to the shape of said tube and said tail piece adjacent theconvergent portions of said two walls, a trailer hitch extendingoutwardly from said bearing plate, an opening in said other wall alignedwith said trailer hitch, and a flexible slit diaphragm covering saidopening to permit said trailer hitch to extend therethrough to anaccessible position outside of said hopper.

4. Apparatus for loading granular material comprising an upwardlyinclined tube, a Wheeled vehicle supporting said tube, a drive unit atone end of said tube, a tail piece on the opposite end of said tubeinclusive of a bearing plate, a screw conveyor mounted for rotation insaid tube between said drive unit and bearing plate, a hopper on thelower end of said conveyor tube having substantially triangular walls,two of said walls converging below said conveyor tube and tail piece,another of said Walls abutting against the outer surface of said bearingplate and connecting said two walls, a clamp adjacent the apex of saidtwo walls adapted to engage said conveyor tube, said walls being roundedto con- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in thefile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,572,818 Smith Feb. 9, 19261,828,268 Wilkes Oct. 20, 1931 1,846,696 Starkey Feb. 23, 1932 2,298,332Applegate Oct. 13, 1942 2,408,952 Raney Oct. 8, 1946 2,434,445 StormbergJan. 13, 1948 2,460,661 Tintes Feb. 1, 1949 2,483,290 Mayrath Sept. 27,1949 2,492,341 Walters Dec. 2'7, 1949 2,533,261 Howe Dec. 12, 1950

